Spirit's Tale
by iNsANiTY-WoLF-CrY
Summary: A wolf, born pure white, looses her mother in a fire, as well as the rest of her siblings. She manages to escape, leaving behind all that she has known since a puppy. Her family, her pack, her whole life. She is then captured, half dead, and beaten into becoming a proper animal. She is then taken to the "institute" where what she thought was bad...soon becomes hell.
1. Chapter 1

"Run…" They said. "Just run…"

Those are the only words that I recall, as the lives around me withered and singed, all of the memories nothing but a black blur to me as the sky turned pale above my head. The force is to dark, demonic, possessed…too _wrong _to even recall. And, to this day, I still have flashbacks to the moment the Great Blaze scorched through our lands, burning the fur off of my family's…my pack's…my whole life's pelts. As their souls departed from their deformed, seared bodies and into the depths of the underworld, which is all we knew at the time, I stood in horror, no more than the age of four moons, as the winds blew the flames at me..._hurting_ me...eventually cutting my life into pieces. Pain is all the others had beaten into our already tortured, distroyed minds. "There is nothing but hurt and pain…" They would whisper, taunting us and the forces that are unspeakable…unsalable...to me and the entire world around us. And this is my tale, the "Spirit's Tale", as she once said, and the story of the hell my life had become…

It wasn't until I had truly given up on life that I found out the reality of it all…all the lies and the incipient truths that lie beyond the secret of the past. I was only four or five moons old…so young for such horrible terror. Tamika, my mother, was born an unadulterated soul; a silvery white pup, with blazing blue eyes and the downy pelt that was softer than the clouds above our heads. I seemed to resemble her greatest, as I was born with the same white pelt as her and the pure black nose that not many of our she-wolves had; it was a turn down to me, having that black nose. Most of the other females had a pink, peach-colored nose. It seemed, at the time, so intimidating to be near another she-wolf that had the cherry-pink nose that I dearly longed for. But in the end, I learned to love what I had, as I soon realized that I must cherish every last part of my mother I had left: my reflection. But, as much as the spitting image I was of her, there was one thing that set me apart from the other wolves. She had mesmerizingly blue eyes, clearer then the water that lapped at our paws and the ice that lay on the trees in the midst of winter. My eyes, in fact, are purple; a shallow purple, just like the aura that would burn off a deeply setting sun. One eye only, that is. That was my biggest difference: I had one eye that was purple, and one that was as green as the grass and the trees and the undergrowth that I was once so used to.

"Nariko…" I heard Shota, my younger brother, say as he bounded up to me, his paws smeared with blood as he shook with impatience. His dark blue eyes flickered over me, and I noticed that his muzzle had the salty substance on it as well. He smiled as a warm breeze blew by, smelling of the sweet lavender and cherry blossoms that I so longed to bury my nose deep into again. The sun was up high, burning brightly in the sky, and my sister and I had just laid down in the shade to shield us of the violent rays of the summer sun that had threatened to make us lay in the lake just to cool off. "I caught my first piece of prey!" His expression lit up as he turned; I watched his brown fur ruffle as he padded off towards the large lump of battered feathers, his paws just itching with pride and joy in showing us his first catch. As he dragged the massive snow owl over to us, it almost seemed a bit sad to see such a beautiful creature dead, nothing now but a bleeding corpse with no life looming around in its once majestic body that had swooped and dived with such elegance and grace among the forest treetops. The feathers were pure white, and just as soft as the fur upon my mother's underbelly, with eyes as black as the night sky and talons sharper then stone. As I stared at the stunning animal, little did I know that this snow owl wasn't just your typical piece of prey for me, it was the omen that changed my destiny.

At first, I thought nothing of a piercing scream that aechoed effortlessly through the forest, as the others hadn't seemed to hear the cry. I shushed them, soon hearing it again, louder this time against my ears then before. They strained to hear what I did, claiming that all the heard were mere whispers of the wind howling through the trees, but they soon panicked as they heard it for themselves, their ears flattening and their hearts racing. Pounding of paws echoed, and we heard the hoarse panting of our mother, out of breath from a long run.

She stared at us with an expression, which was a jumble of apprehension, worry, and uneasiness. "I…heard a scream…are you three alright?" Her breath was fast, and she gave us a look of hesitation as she sniffed the air, soon staring out at the fields beyond us. The heat was burning our backs even under the shade of the great oak that towered above our heads. Her eyes glossed over as the most vibrant, looming…light…flooded over the hills, engulfing and sweltering every tree and limb in its path. Smoke filled the air, and I began to feel, oddly enough,…happy. It was so bright, so jubilant, so _tempting_… Something was dragging me towards the fire as I sat there, emotionless, the flames ahead reflecting in my eyes and twinkling in the distance.

But it was only when I felt the heat truly touch my face did I realize that fire was not something to mess with. Animals ran past us as the firestorm blazed closer and closer with every breath I took. The rest of our pack ran, yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs as their pups and their home…their lives…burned to the ground right in front them, with them knowing that they cannot deal with the force of nature…with them knowing that they cannot save their children's lives as the fire burned their bodies to ashes, killing the mother and father in their desperate attempt to save their lives. The elders stood, facing the fire, knowing that they would be unable to escape their fate. My mother was frozen to the ground as the fire began surrounding the trees that encircled us.  
"Mother…!" I begged, pushing her legs, my eyes burning with smoke and tears. "We have to go now…" I choked out the words, but all she done was sit there in a daze, watching her mother and father and the rest of the elders head nose-first into the buring flames, in hopes of finding a young life to save as they knew their time was over. I cried even more as the flames began swirling around our paws, burning us until we bled. My brother and sister began trembling and coughing up blood and dust as the smoke became too heavy to see through and the fire was scorching through their pelts. Mother's snow white pelt, soon turned to ashes, and she collapsed onto the ground.

"Run…" She whispered into my ear, and with her last dying breath, she muttered in a voice so low, "With every life taken, a new life is given. But…it is not your time, young Nariko. I love you…" Her voice faded as her whole body engulfed in flames, and her flesh burning away, more and more with every passing second. I stood, stunned, choking on my own tears and the thick smog around me, until I finally ran. I ran away from the fire, the lives and spirits of my family and pack, away from the life I used to know, away from death and ashes that loomed in the flames of the Great Blaze.

I was blinded by my tears, too scared to stop running no matter how bad the pain. I screamed as I heard a crack, sending a burning limb crashing down in front of me. Now I truly was trapped, no way out, and all I could do now was sit there and cry…cry for my mother, my sister, and my brother. For the life I used to know, and the land that had been my home for such a long time. As the flames drew near, I held my breath, not caring if I live or die, thinking to myself how I would be better off dead and in a better place than here and alive in this burning abyss of torture and the pain that I would suffer in return for my foolishness for turning my back on my life and running, leaving the weak to burn to ashes while I just ran like a coward.

As I felt the fire on my tail, my ears perked up. Steam. And when there's steam, there's…water! My vision suddenly went black and, in sheer terror and a flurry of apprehension, I leaped as far into the flames as I could. I began sobbing in relief as I felt water under my paws, slowly relieving the pain as I went limp and allowed the current to carry me upstream and away from the burning forest behind me. I know I had landed in a river, and for a split second, I thought I was dead. My senses faded, the sound of screeches died, the smell of smoke faded, and I could no longer feel the water that pulled me downstream. Only when I opened my eyes did I realize that I was bleeding so bad that the water around me turned a deep scarlet. I felt…sick…

Time, as what seemed to be, began flowing once again, and all I could do was float away from the torture and anguish that crept up on me once again. I was blinded to it all. All that I could see was my mother's body burning to the ground in the corner of my eye, my brother and sister unwilling to leave their mother's side, even if it means dying by her side, all three of their bodies burning to nothing but bones and ashes and seared blood…

A crack louder than thunder snapped me out of my hallucination and I noticed just how bad of a situation I was in. The fire was once again burning the trees and grass around me, and the ground shook as a tree ripped from the earth, sending dirt and roots everywhere, eventually crashing no more than a hair-length from my nose. I almost instantly ducked under, my paw catching on several strands of ivy tendrils from the big tree trunk that had slammed its way into the river in front of me. The rest of my body crashed into the bark as flames lapped at my nose, and I bit down as hard as I could, knowing that if I make one mistake, my life would be over.

_What is the point in living now...when all that you had to live for is gone? _The air escaped out of my lungs. "This is for the life that my mother had given up!" Fury surged through me, and I snapped at the ivy, soon releasing me into the current. It immediately sucked me under the tree-trunk, and with every passing moment, the current got stronger and stronger until I could no longer see where I was. The last thing I felt before I went black was my head hitting metal and the feeling of the water lifting off my pelt as I was dragged out of the water and into the air, gasping once more before my body went numb…


	2. Chapter 2

_Thud…_

I awoke with a jolt as my head hit steel, and the rest of my body slid indirect and crashed against some sort of wire. My paws were numb, my shoulders still paralyzed, and I had this…tag…on my left ear. I could feel the warm blood slowly drip down from my ear onto the tag and my paw, its salty-tang smell filling the air around me and making me flinch. For several minutes, I couldn't see, as if I was in some sort of a foggy daze that immobilized me. But my senses soon returned, as I examined my surroundings. I couldn't think strait, though, or move out of pure shock and terror. My whole body convulsed in a tremor, my mind numb as I observed the things around me. It seemed as if I was in a metal box, with wire on all sides. It was big enough for me to walk around in, but I couldn't move at all, as my legs were tied and bound with rusted metal chains. I had this cover over my mouth, making it hard to see or breathe. Beside me sat two bowls, one containing water and the other containing some sort of brown pellets. My head ached with trepidation, my heart racing, and I felt as if I was going to be sick, and I began gasping as my heart jumped nearly out of my chest. There was a small gap in the cover over my mouth, just big enough for me to drink. Reluctantly I took a drink, and despite how horrid the water tasted, I thirstily lapped it up, soon emptying it.

I was too shocked, too terrified to even dare to move. And then the memories returned, and I began screaming as I flung myself mindlessly against the barbed-edge wires. It's hard for me to describe the feeling I had then…I just find it impossible to describe that sort of terror and traumatization. My mind was warped, scarred, damaged…at this point I felt as if I was going insane, my body immune to the hell that burned so vividly in my mind…the hell that shredded my heart and sucked the life out of my and into the darkness. I then heard the pattering and stomping of footsteps outside of my cage, but I kept on barking and howling with all of the life I had left in me. That's when this…creature…had appeared in front of my cage, peering at me with deep brown-hazel eyes, and that's when I seen an image of myself, falling and lifeless, and crashing to the ground; there was no light, only me. I looked up at the big tan-pink creature and growled, out of fear as well as surprise.

When I was the tiniest pup, I recall the words my mother had whispered to me, her voice as sweet as an angel…or the coo of every dove that's life was taken for the sake of our survival, its blood running cold as we rip it to shreds. She had told me and my brother and sister about these creatures. "Humans… they are cruel and treacherous, heartless as a fox, just as malicious as a bear, as venomous as the bite of a viper…just cold as stone. Their words burn and their greedy paws do nothing but evil, slowly taking away your sanity and the freedom of all you know and live for… Those are the warnings I will give you, and those are the warnings you must heed." Those words seem to make sense now, all of it piecing together as the events unfold in my mind…why mother had those scars…

I flinched, shutting up, as I pressed against the cold steel wires of my cage…the human had this…stick…it was brown, and stained with blood that had soaked deep into the wood…he had whacked the top of my cage, hard, remorselessly…his beady eyes glimmering as bright as a star that has erupted in a vortex of fire…A glint that was so menacing, full of evil…He smacked the top of my cage once again, ruthlessly, as I growled at him. He had this thing in his mouth, and in anger, spit smoke at me, stinging my eyes. The sight of smoke made my body tremor and I howled in indescribable pain; I felt this…jump…in my heart, and deep down inside I knew I was scarred mentally and physically. The truth was that I was truly terrified… growling and yelping in horror…If only they knew the trauma I had gone through before this…_Like they would care… _He hit my cage once more, this time his using his hands. His fingers managed to slip through the holes in the top of my cage, and almost uncontrollably, I reared up and nipped his thumb quicker than an eagle in pursuit of its prey.

A drop of blood, just small enough to make a sound, hit the ground inside the cage. I screamed in terror as the man kicked my cage, the door flying open and allowing some space…Now was my chance! I took in a breath of air before charging out the cage, ducking and weaving in circles as the man stumbled around holding his thumb, trying to stomp on me...I the leapt up and bit into the nearest skin I could find. I dropped to the floor, gasping and choking on the taste of the man's warm, tangy blood. Laughing uncontrollably out of nervousness, I soon realized that I had made a _huge_ mistake. I turned, not knowing where I was going and half jogged and half dragged my body across the floor. My pelt felt as if it were made of stone, dragging me down with each step…

As I pushed on, I felt as if the walls around me were closing in, like the whole hallway was just another cage…just part of a maze. My mind was whirling, and I was blinded to everything around me… I had to get out, something deep down inside me told me I was in trouble. But soon I began tripping over my own legs, as the meds had not worn of completely yet. I heard the man scream, and the next thing I know I felt something hit my head and redness seeped into my eyes, and slowly, I fell to the ground…they last thing I felt was the stick whacking my side monotonously, and his foot slamming me against the wall with brute force. I went black, coldness seeping over my body, feeling as if the life and energy was being sucked out of my limbs, inch by inch…

For the next few days, I kept receiving these shots in my legs; each and every time I arise from my sleep, they would give a short break where I would be blindfolded and taken outside into the grass to make my dirt or eat. If I refused to do either, they would shock me with their metal stick until I did as I was told…I usually obeyed them, as much as I hated the fact that they pushed me around. But if I made one mistake, they would shock and burn my fur off until they would get what they want… Which is my blood on their hands. Over a short period of a few days, I came to realize that they _like _to inflict pain. They like to see others scream and yelp. They are not humans…these are monsters. I have never really seen them, but I have heard other dogs screaming in pain far off in the distance…but only when they take me outside. _Are there…others…? _I wondered, shivering at the thought…at the fact that it is probably true.

Weeks passed, and I began to grow thinner and thinner, but faster and "obedient". The truth is, they not only punished me with shock, as I began to become immune to it, but they took away my food…the only source I have to live on, to thrive on; without it, I felt as if I would collapse, and the horror struck me as I thought of how badly they would beat me if my body gave way. So I listened to their every command as they taught me to do different things. Only once in a while did I get to interact with another "canine". It was done so I would get used to associating with t=other dogs, but, hell, I lived with my brother and sister, who always took advantage of me, so I was used to it. All the other dogs were blindfolded and chained, the scent of blood or rust nearly evaporating in front of my nose. If I made one move wrong, _wham_, I would get hit with a nail-belt. If the other dog misbehaved or even tugged at their leash, _wham_, I would hear them yelp as metal or leather him them firmly. But a heartbeat after no more than a sniff, they would lead me back into my cage. And when nightfall arrived, they would take my blindfold and cover from my mouth off, and I would fall deep into the only place I could roam free: My mind. I would often dream of escaping, but then the dream would collapse and I could see myself being beaten and whipped and burned, being thrown back into a cage. The dreams continued night after night, restless dose after restless doze, haunting my every step the next day.

Until one day…one gloomy, stormy day where they had awoken me with their shock-stick…they removed my blindfold, and dragged my cage into a room. Releasing my latch, allowing my door to creep its way open, light flooded my eyes and I blinked. I was beginning to become used to the dark, almost as if I were blind. My eyes stung and watered as light seeped through, allowing me to see. It was all bleary, as if my eyes had not yet adjusted to the light. I still hadn't moved from my cage, and all I could see were blurry shapes looming around. A hand touched my side, and I began to growl, but swallowed my anger, knowing that if I bit them, I would be punished. But instead of the hand pulling my fur to drag me out of my cage, the hand was…gentle. They didn't harm me in any way, but instead lifted me out gingerly, and placed me on the floor. I slid, but quickly used my claws to balance myself. My eyesight soon cleared, and I looked into the eyes of the human that knelt before me. This human was unlike any other of the vile creatures that I had seen before. Then I realized that it was a female, with long black hair and pinkish-red glasses and a vacant smile, as if I was some sort of "prize". She raised a hand towards my face, and I cowered in fear, growling softly. The female then looked at me with an unreadable expression, and the man that had carried me into the room kicked me. The female then stood up quickly and yelled something at the man in a human language, unable for me to decipher.

It wasn't long before the man took my cage out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving me in the room alone with the woman. This odd feeling of being touched so gently calmed me, but I knew I couldn't trust any human anymore, no matter how gentle they were with me or how soft their face seemed. I would always have this …fear of them, after the trauma they put me through. I see the human then walk over to the left side of the fairly-large, white-tiled room, to the counter, a monotonous _click, clack, click, clack,_ echoing off the walls and echoing back into my ears. Above the counter lay a few shelves, and she dragged a small box down. She began to pull something out of the box, but as I was trying to focus on her, this man, what a lean figure he had, with these piercing black eyes and a grey suit like the torturing men that had dragged my cage into this room, walked in and said something to the woman, and turned in order to stare at me. He glared, then left, grasping his shock-stick in his right hand tightly, almost as if saying to me, "Come closer to me and you'll never see the end of it." But as they had taught me with their brute force, I sat still, not darning to even bare my teeth at him.

The woman then slowly slipped this white covering over her hand, and slowly stepped back in my direction. I froze, hoping that she wouldn't touch me. But my hope faded as she bent over and grabbed my sides. I growled, but then cowered away in fear of her burning or shocking me. I felt trapped against the wall, unable to escape the tendrils of fear climbing up my paws and into my heart, inch by inch, with me knowing that they would forever enclose my heart with fear…


End file.
